Celebrity Travel Advisory Important update

[villauk]

2 minutes ago, az_tchr said:

To be clear the bans on Veneto and Lombardy are not from Celebrity but from the overalI association of cruise lines. Two other lines cancelled all Venice cruises yesterday.

 

 

Which leads to the point that more ports may have to do the same over the coming weeks. I still think the cruise lines will need to seriously consider whether they send the ships over on the TAs, or possibly wait until we all see how this pans out on this side of the pond. They don’t want to find themselves in the same position as the Westerdam: nowhere to dock, just floating around the ocean for weeks.

[Jim_Iain]

12 hours ago, helen haywood said:

That’s interesting.  I’ve seen the letter posted but the posters did not say what cruise they were sailing.  It makes more sense that it is specific to Caribbean cruises because it makes absolutely no sense in reference to cruises originating from Venice.

In my case the letter was received for a Caribbean cruise departing Port Everglades.  

[helen haywood]

The bar code at the bottom of your passport contains all your travel information.

 

But I agree this new screening cannot possibly be effective.

[az_tchr]

20 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

Which leads to the point that more ports may have to do the same over the coming weeks. I still think the cruise lines will need to seriously consider whether they send the ships over on the TAs, or possibly wait until we all see how this pans out on this side of the pond. They don’t want to find themselves in the same position as the Westerdam: nowhere to dock, just floating around the ocean for weeks.

 

Impossible to know what happens next. South Korea, Iran, Italy we know so little. 

[hcat]

37 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

In my case the letter was received for a Caribbean cruise departing Port Everglades.  

I expect  we'll get one for our Bermuda cruise from Bayonne as well..

[cluso]

Tenerife now, the Canaries.  Hotel lockdown per BBC.

[villauk]

21 minutes ago, cluso said:

Tenerife now, the Canaries.  Hotel lockdown per BBC.

 

 

Yes, see post #62 above for link. And mainland Spain and Switzerland now.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-51628990

Edited February 25, 2020 by villauk

[cruisehabits]

2 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

When I checked into my cruise on 10 February, the agent did go through every page of my passport and came upon my Chinese visa, which I pointed out was from five years ago. She said thank you and continued going through the rest of the passport. She looked at it page by page. It might slow your check in process by a few minutes but I hope they do that for all passports.

 

When I checked in for my SE Asia cruise my passport was not gone through page by page.  I specifically paid attention to this detail because I was interested in how the scope of this would be handled at check in.  

 

Furthermore, the check in agents are not full time employees which thereby creates an entirely new issue as far as training and what to look for when checking passengers in.  They are often part time employees.  It would be very difficult to cover the critical details and imperative nature of correctly processing check in for passengers in a pre-shift meeting.

[cruiserchuck]

1 hour ago, az_tchr said:

To be clear the bans on Veneto and Lombardy are not from Celebrity but from the overalI association of cruise lines. Two other lines cancelled all Venice cruises yesterday.

 

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has not yet added parts of Italy to its watch list.  Royal Caribbean and its brands seem to be taking more aggressive action.

 

https://cruising.org/news-and-research/press-room/2020/february/clia-statement-on-2019-novel-coronavirus-outbreak

[cruisehabits]

1 hour ago, Essiesmom said:

 I am wondering if when they swipe your passport, it can show where you have traveled during the life of that passport.  And then the cruise lines could all go to requiring passports.  EM

 

Only US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP/US Immigration) would have the ability to swipe your passport to divulge travel history.  This information would not be accessible to non-law enforcement/CBP personnel.

 

It unfortunately provides for a logistical nightmare beyond the capacity for which ANY cruise line is capable of handling.  Considering the scope of the guidelines they are putting on paper, with intention of following, I have little faith that they can properly enforce the guidelines they are setting forth.

 

With that being said, for those of us with cruises booked (I have several) ....we will have to continue to follow along and make the best decisions possible individually.  We will have to do this until either the cruise lines and/or Federal Government step up with more structured and effective procedures....if that is even possible.

[Pentlands]

Perhaps what they are really doing is covering their backs so that if there are issues onboard they cannot be sued.

[girljerk]

Cruise ships are not the problem. I've been following this closely. Italy quarantined several cities a couple days ago.

Travellers from those areas returning to the US have not been screened. There is no way to know if any of those people are positive for the virus. Add to that the fact, if a person has substandard medical insurance, they are less likely to be seen at the hospital until their symptoms are far advanced. I believe the Coronavirus is already here. Take proper precautions where ever you travel. Sanitise your airplane seats and trays, stay away from coughing people if possible and wash your hands often. 

[gerryincork]

We are regular Celebrity cruisers and we booked our first Caribbean cruise a year ago with Celebrity. We live in Ireland so it is a very expensive vacation for us. We have paid in full but now we are contemplating the cruise with trepidation because of the Coronavirus. We cannot see how we can possibly enjoy a cruise with the potential health risks involved especially as we need to take a number of flights to get to Miami. Celebrity are saying if we cancel or defer to another date that we lose all our money. In these exceptional circumstances I really feel this is very harsh and not very pro customer. We have travel insurance but it will not cover this situation. Any thoughts?

Edited February 25, 2020 by gerryincork

[Roger88]

What are you afraid of exactly? Are you afraid that sick people can get on board? I mean everything is possible but if you think about it - even your neighbor can be sick or your friend or relative or even a colleague at work. The chances to meet a person with a virus on board of the intercontinental ship is quite high of course but not higher than anywhere else... I mean you are not going to China for example, right?

[az_tchr]

41 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has not yet added parts of Italy to its watch list.  Royal Caribbean and its brands seem to be taking more aggressive action.

 

https://cruising.org/news-and-research/press-room/2020/february/clia-statement-on-2019-novel-coronavirus-outbreak

Princess/Carnival cancelled its Venice port stop.  The cruise association press release you sent a link is dated 2 weeks ago. My TA said an updated presser is coming regarding South Korea, Italy, Canary Islands and other areas with outbreaks.

[Bruin Steve]

Apparently, all of these notices are going out to passengers on cruises that are upcoming SOON...and I am imagining that no one can really put an end date on any of this.

 

I am booked on back-to-back cruises in July--Rome to Venice and Venice to Rome...So, I am hoping to an incredible extent that all of this is moot by then (but, of course, no one knows)...But, thus far, I have received no notices.

 

I will be extremely disheartened if anything in this trip is changed.  The trip is scheduled to celebrate both our anniversary AND my wife's retirement (at the end of the school year after 25 years of a career as a School Psychologist).  We booked these cruises almost a year ago now and much planning has gone into every last detail.  The plan is to fly into Milan 10 days prior and rent a car, touring by land to Lugano, Lucerne, Lauterbrunnen and the Cinque Terre...and then a night in Civitavecchia before boarding...then, upon return, two nights in Rome.  We chose the itineraries because they only repeat one port on the two cruises and they visit what will be two new ports for us--Rijeka and Zadar...and several other ports we haven't visited in a few years.

 

I have made ALL of the arrangements and reservations--including flights, multiple hotels, rental car, transfers ship to Rome and Rome to FCO, private port tours and Shore Excursions, etc.  Thankfully, we made the air arrangements with Celebrity Air almost a year prior as refundable (BUT, airfares have gone up significantly since so, if changes need to be made, it will be at some significant extra expense)...Many of the hotels are cancelable--but, again, reservations made long ago and prices have increased over time.  But at least three nights of hotels as well as our rental car reservation are PREPAID and nonrefundable (and, since it's not the cruise itself, I doubt Celebrity cares).  Also, having made the reservations early enough, we were able to grab the same desired midship Concierge cabin for both legs.

 

Everything fits together so nicely...and, because of the timing of all the planning, the overall pricing is outstanding.

 

If, for some reason, the cruise is canceled or even altered, I am sure that Celebrity will, no doubt, refund my deposit and cancel my airfare without charge...HOWEVER, I will be hung out to dry on several hundred dollars of hotel and rental car charges (I am assuming that,if even the current restrictions are still in place, flying into Milan to pick up my rental car as well as travel in the north will be out of the question.  BUT, in addition, a restructured cruise, even one out of Rome, will likely not visit the desired ports...and might, likely, revisit ports elsewhere in Europe that we've recently visited and didn't intend to return to quite yet.  ALSO, probably not going to get as good a deal on a replacement cruise as we had on this one.  AND, current airfares and flight selection from LAX to wherever we'll have to fly in and out of will likely not be close to the airfare cost we are tied into for this.  I just ran a check on ChoiceAir.com and the same dates we booked--but for worse flight times with much longer layovers starts at over $400 more than what we have booked.  Any hotels we may need for whatever pre- or-post-cruise we are able to schedule, booked this most closer to the dates, will likely be at much higher rates.

 

And, of course, I will have a lot of work to do to go back into planning mode all over again...

 

So, no matter what happens here, if it results in changes to our trip, will cost us quite a bit...

 

So, I REALLY HOPE all of this goes away quickly!!!

[Taylor D]

Well people in Venice have been complaining for years that there are to many cruise ships coming there so they may just get there wish.

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, az_tchr said:

 

Impossible to know what happens next. South Korea, Iran, Italy we know so little. 

 

Well we have some idea. It will get worse before it gets better. Who knows how many places this will impact eventually?

[Ellie_daisy]

My husband’s family is insisting on us cancelling our upcoming April cruise from Australia to NZ b/c of the virus.

I personally think it is silly. If it was an Asian cruise, I would cancel no problem, but not ours.

 

Would any of you cancel this cruise?

 

We do have a cancellation insurance but we will not get all of the $$ back. It is 3 business class tickets from Canada to NZ and back. + 11 night cruise + hotels. I personally don’t see a reason to panic. Yet at least.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruising sister]

We leave for New Zealand on March 7th for B2B cruise on the Solstice. I have to say we are nervous due to the uncertainty and not wanting to get stuck on the ship and not back home.  At this point if we cancel and the cruise is not cancelled we are out of luck. For now NZ and AU look safe for traveling but that can change quickly as we just saw in Italy. 

[az_tchr]

59 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

Apparently, all of these notices are going out to passengers on cruises that are upcoming SOON...and I am imagining that no one can really put an end date on any of this.

 

I am booked on back-to-back cruises in July--Rome to Venice and Venice to Rome...So, I am hoping to an incredible extent that all of this is moot by then (but, of course, no one knows)...But, thus far, I have received no notices.

 

I will be extremely disheartened if anything in this trip is changed.  The trip is scheduled to celebrate both our anniversary AND my wife's retirement (at the end of the school year after 25 years of a career as a School Psychologist).  We booked these cruises almost a year ago now and much planning has gone into every last detail.  The plan is to fly into Milan 10 days prior and rent a car, touring by land to Lugano, Lucerne, Lauterbrunnen and the Cinque Terre...and then a night in Civitavecchia before boarding...then, upon return, two nights in Rome.  We chose the itineraries because they only repeat one port on the two cruises and they visit what will be two new ports for us--Rijeka and Zadar...and several other ports we haven't visited in a few years.

 

I have made ALL of the arrangements and reservations--including flights, multiple hotels, rental car, transfers ship to Rome and Rome to FCO, private port tours and Shore Excursions, etc.  Thankfully, we made the air arrangements with Celebrity Air almost a year prior as refundable (BUT, airfares have gone up significantly since so, if changes need to be made, it will be at some significant extra expense)...Many of the hotels are cancelable--but, again, reservations made long ago and prices have increased over time.  But at least three nights of hotels as well as our rental car reservation are PREPAID and nonrefundable (and, since it's not the cruise itself, I doubt Celebrity cares).  Also, having made the reservations early enough, we were able to grab the same desired midship Concierge cabin for both legs.

 

Everything fits together so nicely...and, because of the timing of all the planning, the overall pricing is outstanding.

 

If, for some reason, the cruise is canceled or even altered, I am sure that Celebrity will, no doubt, refund my deposit and cancel my airfare without charge...HOWEVER, I will be hung out to dry on several hundred dollars of hotel and rental car charges (I am assuming that,if even the current restrictions are still in place, flying into Milan to pick up my rental car as well as travel in the north will be out of the question.  BUT, in addition, a restructured cruise, even one out of Rome, will likely not visit the desired ports...and might, likely, revisit ports elsewhere in Europe that we've recently visited and didn't intend to return to quite yet.  ALSO, probably not going to get as good a deal on a replacement cruise as we had on this one.  AND, current airfares and flight selection from LAX to wherever we'll have to fly in and out of will likely not be close to the airfare cost we are tied into for this.  I just ran a check on ChoiceAir.com and the same dates we booked--but for worse flight times with much longer layovers starts at over $400 more than what we have booked.  Any hotels we may need for whatever pre- or-post-cruise we are able to schedule, booked this most closer to the dates, will likely be at much higher rates.

 

And, of course, I will have a lot of work to do to go back into planning mode all over again...

 

So, no matter what happens here, if it results in changes to our trip, will cost us quite a bit...

 

So, I REALLY HOPE all of this goes away quickly!!!

Steve we agree. We have similar. Cruise over to Europe. Explore Southern UK. A cruise to Norway they fly and drive Scotland for 8 weeks. Everything booked and most paid. DW wants to cancel. I said wait and see, especially since past final payment date. I did send out some emails and most accommodations willing to cancel. Also car rental and airlines. All Charge, but like you we want to meet relatives in the UK and celebrate wife being released to travel.

FWIW, probably not worth trying to change your itinerary. Corona is sort of whack A mole. Good thoughts. Wish you well.

[farawayatsea]

Can happen anywhere. MSC ship in Caribbean now impacted. I have nothing booked and won't be booking. Very difficult decision if paid for with no refund. If refund available I would cancel immediately  

[Pickels]

It's going to be a very tough issue to enforce---let's say a couple has spent thousands of dollars on a cruise, and they have been to one of the infected counties; do you think they would admit it and run the risk of not being able to board?  Maybe some would; but I betcha some will try to board!

[SunNFunCruzer]

2 minutes ago, Pickels said:

It's going to be a very tough issue to enforce---let's say a couple has spent thousands of dollars on a cruise, and they have been to one of the infected counties; do you think they would admit it and run the risk of not being able to board?  Maybe some would; but I betcha some will try to board!

 

 

The bigger question is what are passengers signing before they board? Or how are they acknowledging that they haven't been to those places?

 

It seems to me that if passengers acknowledge and confirm that they have not been to one of those regions before boarding, and they lie and board, and are later sick, and others on the ship become sick or the ship is quarantined costing the cruiseline a significant amount of money, the cruiseline may be able to sue the passenger for damages.

 

I never heard of this being done, but my understanding of contracts are that they work both ways, protecting both parties -- cruiseline and passengers.  Some of these passengers are very wealthy.   If you get a group that violates the rule and there's an outbreak, the cruiselines may get creative to recoup their lost revenue and expenditures.

 

 

[1025cruise]

I see you are an infrequent poster to the boards. You have mistakenly posted to the board for those requiring assistance with the boards. The best place to post this would be the Celebrity board.